Wednesday, December 12, 2007

On Hardball this past Monday, Chris Matthews did his regular "Power Ranking" of the Democratic candidates for president, ranking who is most likely to become the nominee next year. The big news: Joe Biden is now ranked third in the field, behind only Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, both much better financed and beneficiaries of infinitely more media coverage.

Here's what Matthews had to say:

"On the Democratic side I say, and this may surprise you, that Joe Biden is now the third best bet for the nomination. I'm hearing a lot of buzz about him from people who pay attention."

Here's the video:

This confirms what I'm hearing from other voters I talk to, as well. As voters here become more focused on making their final caucus choices, and as they get to know Joe Biden, they are seeing him not only as the candidate who is the leading voice on solving the Iraq mess, but more and more as a legitimate alternative to the established front runners. The closer we get to caucus night, the better positioned Joe Biden is to dramatically exceed expectations here in Iowa.